


Waiting For (Or Hiding From) You

by Comixgal



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Confusion, F/M, Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 08:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2422172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comixgal/pseuds/Comixgal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Steve and Tony discover that Clint has a crush on Coulson, not everything goes as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting For (Or Hiding From) You

“Dude! How long have you been here?” Tony’s voice filled the public space of the Tower where Clint had been nursing the same beer for over an hour as he stared at the door.

“Just got here.” Clint lied.

Steve had been right behind Tony and frowned. “Your beer has gone warm. There’s no condensation running down it and the microwave is flashing that it’s done heating but I can’t smell whatever you warmed up so I’m guessing you forgot about it quite a while ago.”

Clint wanted to say something snarky but fell back on a repressive and unwelcome glare.

Tony, on the other hand, was grinning like an idiot. “He’s so smart!” He pretended to fan himself. “Couldn’t you just swoon at such brilliant displays of observation?”

“Not really. But I’m sure he’ll catch you if you do.” It was meant to sound snide but came out weary instead.

Steve simply said, “I’d catch anyone who fell over.”

Rolling his eyes at Steve’s inability to play along with the joke, Tony asked, “JARVIS, how long has Agent Barton been standing here?”

“Eighty-three minutes, sir.”

Damned AI. Clint scowled. “I’m leaving now.”

“Ah, ah, ah.” Tony held up his hand. “JARVIS, can you please send video to my StarkPad of what happened eighty-four minutes ago?”

“Certainly, sir.”

Tony held out the small screen. They all watched Agent Phil Coulson and Doctor Richard Proctor say goodbye to Clint as they left the Tower. JARVIS showed the few seconds after the door closed behind them in which Clint threw a dagger at the wooden frame and flopped down in his chair.

Both Tony and Steve turned to see if they’d missed the blade.

Clint rolled his eyes and brandished it for them both to see. “I’m not in the habit of leaving my weapons around.”

Tony shrugged. “Alright, Mr. Gloomy. Tell you what--”

Clint groaned at the tone of voice. He knew whatever came next wouldn’t be good.

The genius went on as if he hadn’t heard, “-- Steve-o here, and I, are going to help you get your man!”

“What?!” Steve asked in surprise.

This was too much. Not only had Tony figured out Clint’s completely inappropriate crush on Coulson but the man had outed him to their old-fashioned, clean-cut, definitely-not-into-men, team leader.

Tony continued to grin. “Seriously! Clint and Coulson are perfect for each other. And it will help with team cohesion.”

Steve frowned. “You want to break up the relationship Agent Coulson is currently in; one in which he seems happy, I might add, to set him up with one of his assets?”

The archer was banging his head against the table.

“Made you say _ass_.” Tony teased.

Clint had never seen Steve roll his eyes. He liked the super-soldier just a little bit more in that moment.

“That’s enough, Tony. Your attempts at playing matchmaker are notoriously poor. I don’t think Agent Barton will appreciate your meddling.”

He raised his warm beer. “Hear, hear!” He downed the rest of the beverage and, he wasn’t ashamed to admit, fled the room.

Tony watched him go while smirking. He turned to Steve, “You know those two are meant for each other. The only thing keeping them apart is Agent Suity McSuit being too proper to sleep with an asset.”

“Agent _Coulson_ should be allowed to make his own choices. He is happy with the doctor. Why must you insist on breaking them up?”

“Clint is pining for the man.”

Steve frowned. “Leave them be, Tony. It will be easier on him if he’s allowed work past this on his own.”

The man shrugged, “Eh, what would you know?”

***

The archer truly appreciated the shooting range that Tony had built on an entire floor of the Tower. The scarily-smart robots could create obstacles and provide additional challenges or JARVIS could turn them off and Clint could spend a few hours just shooting mark after mark until his body and mind had exhausted themselves.

He’d just finished using one of the new recurve bows that Tony had created, enjoying the draw but needing to adjust for the slight weight difference. He tried not to jump when he realized that Steve was watching him. “Hey, Cap.”

“Agent Barton.” He handed over a bottle of water.

“What can I do for you?” He watched the other man blush.

“I wanted to speak with you about Agent Coulson.” Steve finally said.

Of course he did. And Clint was just all too aware that the man was standing between him and the door. He shrugged and tried to act nonchalant, “Listen. There’s nothing to talk about. Coulson and I are colleagues. Nothing more.”

Steve wasn’t so easily deterred. “I know what it’s like to be interested in someone you work with and I--”

“Listen, Captain, it’s fine. I’m sorry that you didn’t have a chance to pursue whatever was going on between you and Peggy Carter but I’m fine. We’re fine. It’s all fine.” And once again, he fled the room.

Steve sighed and shook his head. He thought, not for the first time, that he might never understand civilians.

***

The next few days were blissfully quiet, both in the saving-the-world sense and the awkward-conversations-with-colleagues sense. Clint thought he might finally be able to relax. He hadn’t counted on Tony’s way of dropping something and then coming back to it with the full weight of his manic attention.

They were having a team dinner when the billionaire unleashed his strange wingman-esque plan. He spent the evening complimenting Clint and trying to get everyone to agree. Steve was graciously willing to along with the bizarre behaviour. Natasha laughed in Tony’s face while Bruce and Coulson nodded in confused silence every time they were addressed.

Tony didn’t seem to notice until Pepper finally told him to shut up and eat his food. She gave Clint a kind smile. “Sorry about him. I told him this morning that he’s not supportive enough of his colleagues.”

Natasha snorted into her glass of wine.

Coulson nodded at Pepper and at Tony. “That was a worthy effort, Tony. I agree that Clint is exceptionally skilled and we are lucky to have him.”

Clint blushed while Tony smirked. The agent avoided looking at Coulson and instead flicked a cherry tomato to splat unceremoniously against Natasha’s forehead.

***

It was Coulson waiting for him at the shooting range the next day. “We haven’t seen much of each other, recently.”

Clint valiantly tried not to say the unkind things that came to mind. He bit his tongue and focused on testing the changes Tony had made to the weight of the recurve.

“Would you like to have coffee with me tomorrow? Richard really wants to get to know you.”

The slight hope that he’d get to see Coulson on his own died with that one sentence. “I’m busy. Sorry.”

Coulson’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t suggest a time.”

Clint shrugged and threw himself into the most rigorous obstacle course JARVIS could create. It took him two hours to complete and to his immense relief, Coulson was gone by the time he finished.

***

“You’re an idiot.” Tony informed him that evening as Clint relaxed in a recliner and iced the ankle he’d tweaked during his workout.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re having coffee with Coulson and his boyfriend tomorrow. You will be brilliant and social and you will prove to the man that you’re better than his doctor.”

And that was the issue, wasn’t it? Clint knew he wasn’t better than Dr. Richard Proctor. Coulson had met him while recovering in the hospital. The man had helped save Phil’s life. They liked the same music and the same science journals. They’d developed inside jokes within days of meeting one another. Every time Clint went to visit Coulson in the hospital, Dr. Proctor had been there. It took so much willpower not to sneer each time he heard the ridiculous, rhyming name.

“I’m not going.”

Tony laughed.

And that’s how Clint found himself wearing dark slacks and a blue, short-sleeved polo shirt that showed off his “arms and eyes-- you have gorgeous eyes, you know that, right?”

Steve had somehow been roped into babysitting him and making sure he made it down to one of the lower floors where a coffee shop had been installed.

Coulson and Richard were already there. Clint tried to turn around but Steve linked an arm through his and walked purposely towards the two men.

It wasn’t Clint’s imagination that Phil’s eyes widened at the sight of Steve Rogers arm-in-arm with him. Feeling capricious, Clint leaned a little into the warm bulk next to him. Coulson’s face went perfectly still.

“Agent Coulson. Dr. Proctor. A pleasure to see you both again. I apologize, but I must leave.”

And suddenly the warmth was gone and Clint was left with an angry Phil and a boring doctor.

Coulson snapped out of whatever he was thinking and made official introductions. Clint managed a smile that didn’t feel too strained on his face.

Every word that came out of Richard Proctor’s mouth made Clint want to punch him. He was too kind, too gracious, too soft-spoken and even-keeled. Clint’s one and only sarcastic comment was met with the most disappointed look Phil could muster. After that, Clint pretended to be interested in the perfect doctor with his perfect teeth and perfect hair and perfect brain and perfect, unmarked hands that had clearly never been broken in a fight or cut with a knife.

It was with no small amount of relief that JARVIS announced an attack in lower Manhattan and Clint took off at a run. He would feel guilty later, he knew, about being so happy that buildings were being smashed but right now, he couldn’t have been more thrilled.

He spared the quickest glance to see Coulson also running behind him. Clint clambered into an air duct that JARVIS had opened and scrambled quickly to the armory for his gear. He arrived moments before Phil, who had been forced to take the elevator.

“You could have joined me on the elevator. JARVIS turned it into an express.” Coulson said as he claimed his additional weapons and scanned over the reports that were available. “I don’t know why you’re avoiding me.”

Since that was beyond a doubt the stupidest thing the man had ever said, Clint ignored it. 

Natasha was suddenly at the door, shouting that Iron Man and Captain America were already headed to the scene and would the two of them please hurry up before they missed out on all the fun?

***

It had been a quick skirmish. About a hundred thugs in special suits and a weird machine that sent out percussive waves of destruction. Clint had timed an arrow perfectly between the bursts and destroyed the thing from above. Natasha had been hopping around like a deranged cricket, trying to take out the men while avoiding the waves that were sent out at alternating heights of three feet and six feet.

They dragged themselves back home, sore and desperate for a massage. Clint took himself to his room and filled the enormous bathtub with the hottest possible water.

He was half-dozing when JARVIS informed him that everyone had planned to order in and if he wanted to join them, they would be congregating in about an hour.

“Will Coulson be there?” He asked.

“No, sir. He says that there is paperwork to do and that he would like to get started on it.”

“Fine. I’ll be there. I want garlic chicken.”

“Very well, sir.”

***

JARVIS had lied. Phil was sitting at the table with the rest of the team, eating spicy broccoli and protecting the last scallion pancake from Tony.

Clint sat down next to the man in the only seat available. He’d been tempted to turn around and walk away but Bruce and Natasha had greeted him already so it would be too obvious that he was bailing on them.

His heart flip-flopped when Coulson handed him the last order of scallion pancakes. Garlic chicken and spicy bok choy also appeared in front of him. He looked up to see Phil smiling at him in a way that made him want to lean over and kiss the man. Instead, he mumbled a quick “Thank you,” and dug into the food.

***

“JARVIS, tell Rogers that I need him.” Tony announced the next day.

“Sir, I cannot force Captain Rogers to attend to your every whim.” The AI seemed peeved by Tony’s attitude.

The genius rolled his eyes. “JARVIS, please ask Steve if he’d be willing to join me here. Tell him that I would appreciate his assistance.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tony was grinning like a cat when the Captain knocked on the door.

“I’ve never been here before.” Rogers said. “JARVIS had to lead me. Where are we?”

“Video security vault.” Tony waved at an empty chair. “I need your help figuring out whether Coulson is really as into this doctor as he seems.”

“What?! I will not help you spy on Agent Coulson. He deserves his privacy.”

Tony scoffed. “There’s no expectation of privacy in public spaces. Just sit down!”

Frowning, Steve crossed his arms across his broad chest. “I don’t approve of this.”

“Wouldn’t you want help if someone you had a crush on was too busy with someone else that they didn’t realize you were interested?” Tony asked. “I know I would.”

“No, you would find a way to charm that person into paying attention to you.”

“All I heard there was that you find me charming.”

“Everyone finds you charming!” Steve said in exasperation. “Even Pepper. Charming and annoying beyond reason.”

“I can live with that.” He said cheerfully. “Now, since Barton doesn’t have my wellspring of charm to work with, we’ll just need to help him out. I’ve had JARVIS cull all video of our two lovebirds in the public areas of the Tower. Now, JARVIS is brilliant --”

“And built by someone truly humble.” The AI added before Tony could say something about his own genius.”

“Indeed.” Tony continued, “But I could use some help assessing the emotions behind these interactions. You use that monitor.” He pointed, “I’ll be over here.”

Steve grimaced. “How long is this supposed to take?” 

“Just an hour or two of your time, my friend. Once we have the coding done for a few hours, I can put JARVIS on processing more.”

How the hell did he get himself into this sort of thing, Steve wondered as Tony grinned maniacally and turned towards his monitor. He put on the headphones that Tony had indicated and listened to JARVIS’s instructions. He spent the next two hours feeling progressively dirtier as he watched dozens of short interactions between the two men. When he’d finally had enough, he threw down the headphones to find that Tony had disappeared.

“JARVIS, how long have I been sitting here, all alone, doing Tony’s dirty work?” He ground out.

“Fifteen minutes, sir.”

He sighed. “Does he do this often? The gathering video and spying on people?”

“All public spaces are monitored for safety reasons.”

“That’s not an answer.” Steve pointed out. Was it his imagination, or did JARVIS sigh?

“You are correct, sir. My apologies. In the past, Master Stark has made use of available video surveillance to pursue his own romantic interests.”

“Like Pepper?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Does she know?”

“Yes, sir.”

Steve stood. “I’m done with this. Agent Coulson should be allowed to make his own decisions. Agent Barton should either say something to him or let it go.” He was growing angrier by the minute. “Tell Tony to leave me out of this mess.”

“Of course, sir.” JARVIS agreed.

***

Steve was punching one of the super-durable bags that hung in the gym when Clint walked in. He almost walked out when Steve said, “Clint, wait!”

Barton turned around. “Yeah?”

“You should go for it.” Steve finally said. “Tell Agen- tell Phil how you feel.”

“What would you know about it?” Clint asked sourly.

“Enough.” Steve said. “I’ve lost a lot of people I really cared about; people I wish I’d said something to. You almost lost Coulson once. You should tell him.”

“Listen, I’m not going to take dating advice from some repressed straight dude who hasn’t had a relationship since before 1944.”

Steve blinked and said, “That’s not true,” before walking out of the gym.

***

Later that evening, Steve went to make himself some hot chocolate when he found that Clint had already started warming milk.

“You wanna tell me about it?” Barton asked quietly as he accepted the chopped chocolate Steve handed him. He stirred the milk, watching streaks of cocoa widen until the entire pot was a uniformly rich colour.

Steve put out two mugs and a bowl of tiny marshmallows. He didn’t say anything as Clint filled their cups. When they were sitting down at the table he remained silent. Barton was an assassin and sniper -- he could be patient

Finally, halfway through his mug, Steve said, “None of that was true.”

Clint waited.

“I’m not straight. I’m not repressed. And my last relationship ended in 1945, a few weeks before I flew that damn jet into the ice.”

Clint stayed silent.

“Peggy was a sweet gal and as tough as Natasha, Miss Potts, and Agent Hill put together. We could have been something, maybe, but it didn’t happen.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t step out on my partners.” Steve said fiercely. “War or not, loyalty is important.”

“Was it Bucky?” Clint asked.

A sad, rueful smile passed across Steve’s face. “No. Not for lack of trying. He wouldn’t go for it. I never knew if he was too scared or too… traditional. I loved him, though.”

Barton stared into his mug, “So Captain Steven Rogers is attracted to men.”

“I don’t care about the body someone’s in. I care about who they are.” He blushed at Clint’s stare. “It’s not as naive as it sounds.”

“No.” The archer agreed. “It sounds nice. Freeing.” He sighed, “It sounds like something Phil would like.”

It was Steve’s turn to wait silently.

“Once he finds out you’re ‘not straight’ and ‘not repressed,’ I won’t have a chance with him.”

“He knows.” Steve covered the hand that Clint had clenched with one of his own. “He came to talk to me a while back. He wanted to be sure I was comfortable with him being in a relationship with another man.”

Clint gave a small laugh and slid his hand out from under Steve’s. “Of course he did. Did he have pamphlets and reading material for you too? Just in case you were a homophobe?”

It was Steve’s turn to laugh. “Yes.” He paused, “You know him really well.”

The other man shrugged. “We’ve been working together for years. We’ve been in a lot of tight spots together. We’ve spent a lot of hopeless moments praying that someone knew where we were and that there was an extraction team somewhere close by. He’s seen me kill a lot of people.”

Steve finally understood. “You think he won’t be attracted to you because you kill people?”

The archer shrugged. “He deserves someone who isn’t all about violence. A doctor who saves lives is better than an assassin who ends them.” He levered himself out of his chair. “Thanks for the hot chocolate. And for being honest with me.” 

“Thanks for listening.” Steve said, though he privately wanted to say quite a lot more. Once Clint was gone, he gathered the mugs and pot for washing. “JARVIS?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Were you recording?”

Steve might have imagined the slight hesitation and reluctant response. “Yes, sir. All public areas.”

“Is there a way to lock it down?”

“I’m sorry, Captain Rogers. The best I can do is make it difficult for Master Stark to find.”

“Please do that.”

“Of course, sir.”

Wishing that the Twenty-First Century wasn’t _The Age of Information_ he headed to his own rooms.

***

The next afternoon, Steve was on the roof of the Tower, sketching the radically different skyline. He was a little surprised when Tony joined him. The man was nearly vibrating with contained energy.

“What is going on?” The super-soldier asked.

“Did you have sex with my father?” Tony blurted out.

Steve’s jaw dropped in stunned shock. “Pardon?”

“Did. You. Have. Sex. With. My. Father.” He asked again slowly.

A thousand thoughts went through Steve’s mind. He’d harboured no small amount of hero worship for the brilliant man. They’d spent a lot of time together, both in awe of one another but their fascination was purely professional. No, they’d never had a physical relationship because-- “Tony,” he said softly, “I did not, and could never have been attracted to your father in that way.”

A frown darkened Tony’s face. Steve watched it flit away to be replaced with the man’s usual irrepressible grin, “Rogers, one, Stark men, zero.” He laughed before disappearing again into the building.

Too confused and surprised by the genius’s sudden appearance and disappearance, the man put down his pad to watch the sunset while reminiscing about his pre-ice days.

*** 

It honestly came as no surprise that Coulson found him later that evening while he was raiding the refrigerator for food.

The agent set about making two cups of tea. They were sitting on the couch when Coulson asked the second most confusing question of the day, “Did you tell Tony that you were straight?”

“What?! No!” Steve didn’t believe in lying about himself. He’d spent too many years being denied the opportunity to fight for himself and others. He was done with that part of his life.

“Are you sure?” Coulson asked over his cup of tea. “Something about never had been or could have been attracted to Howard Stark?”

Blue eyes widened in sudden comprehension. “I meant that it would have been unprofessional!”

“Does it surprise you that he completely misunderstood your meaning?”

Steve remembered sitting at this table a week ago while Clint repeatedly banged his head against the hard surface. At this moment in time, as a coping mechanism, it seemed like a good one. “How did this come up in the first place?” He asked instead.

“Natasha and Tony had a bet.”

He couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed that two of his teammates had made a bet about his sexuality. He said as much to Coulson.

“It wasn’t.” Phil admitted. “Tony was reading through his father’s diaries. Howard has a lot of very positive things to say about you. Natasha bet him that the two of you had been an item.”

Ah. Of course. And Tony could never resist a bet. And now the man thought he was straight. More and more, banging his head against the table seemed like a good idea. “I’ll tell him tomorrow.” Steve said.

The agent was watching him over his mug. “Were you attracted to Howard?”

“He was a handsome man. Very smart. Driven. But it was easy for him to ignore other people or forget about them. He wasn’t good with emotions.”

“And Tony?”

“They’re a lot alike. Though Tony does seem to understand feelings a bit more.”

Coulson laughed. “That’s not much of a compliment.”

Steve chuckled, “I guess it’s the price of genius.” He thought back, “I liked him. But a relationship with him would have been a terrible breach of professionalism.”

That made Phil’s smile fade. “Yes, I suppose that’s true.”

The Captain was starting to feel like a matchmaker. “What’s S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fraternization policy?” He asked.

Coulson lifted an eyebrow. “Surprisingly lax. You’ve seen combat.”

Yes, he had. He remembered how people reacted to surviving battle. Any number of relationships had started (and ended) in the adrenaline rush of being alive. “So there aren’t any rules about team members getting together?”

Coulson’s other eyebrow went up. “There are, but they are either ignored or lax. Are you familiar with the term ‘shovel talk’?” He asked.

Steve nodded, though he was thoroughly confused by the question (again).

“Good. Then let me tell you that if you hurt Clint, not even your super-serum healing will help you. No one will find you. I will make sure that you are never again able to harm one of my people.” He seemed to deflate, “That said, I’m happy for you two. He deserves someone like you, someone who appreciates his skill, isn’t afraid of him, has the patience to put up with him, someone genuinely good, someone --”

Steve dropped his head against the hard table. This was swell. Just... swell. “I’m not in a relationship with Clint.” He ground out.

Coulson frowned. “At the café a few days ago he was leaning on your arm and--”

“I was just trying to help. I was literally giving him a shoulder to lean on.”

“And a few nights ago I was looking for him to sign off on some paperwork and JARVIS said you were both here.”

“We made hot chocolate.” Steve said, lifting his mug, “I hardly think hot drinks constitute a date.”

“Oh.” Coulson said evenly. “ I apologize. I completely misread the situation.”

Nope. The man wasn’t getting out of this that easily. “You’re all those things.” Rogers said quietly. “All the things you just listed. You described yourself.”

Phil was fiddling with his mug. “Clint deserves someone better. He deserves someone who didn’t die and leave him all alone. He deserves someone who hasn’t asked him to sit in a tiny space and wait for hours to get the perfect shot. He deserves someone who hasn’t treated him like a tool, an asset, instead of a person. You’ve been a good leader for the Avengers. You appreciate his skill and realize no one else could do what he does.”

“So do you.” Steve insisted.

“Agent Barton isn’t interested.” Coulson said with a strange note of finality. “We have too much history. He doesn’t enjoy spending time with me. I think I remind him too much of everything we’ve been through.”

Captain Rogers was about to disagree when Phil held up a hand. “I know that he asks JARVIS whether I’ll be at team dinners.”

“Proof that you’re both idiots.” Steve would have said so much more but stopped himself by vacating the space as quickly as possible.

***

Once again, Clint luxuriated in how quiet the days were. It had been nearly ten days since the dust-up in lower Manhattan and everything was good. Even better, he hadn’t seen Coulson or his too-perfect Doctor Proctor in a few days, and he was feeling all the happier for it. On the other hand, Steve had also been absent, which meant that Natasha was the only person around for sparing.

Clint eventually went in search of something more entertaining than training. He ran into Tony in the elevator. The man had clearly been up for far too long.

“I finished more arrows. Come down some time and check them out.” Tony said near the end of his hyperactive rant.

“Uh, thanks. I will.” Clint promised. “Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep?”

“Too busy.” He ran a greasy hand down his face. “Stuff to do.” He exited the elevator.

“JARVIS, where is Steve?”

“Captain Rogers does not wish to be disturbed, sir.”

“JARVIS, so help me, since Bruce isn’t around, if you don’t send that star-spangled asshole to go drag Tony away from his lab, I will have to go down there, and you know that I’m more likely to knock him out than try to reason with him. Steve’s a nice guy. You should really choose him.”

***

“Captain Rogers?”

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Steve, JARVIS?”

“I apologize, sir. I’ve been asked to inform you that Master Stark has been awake for over 48 hours.”

Steve sighed. Tony had been avoiding him since their extremely awkward conversation in which Steve had admitted to not being straight -- but still not attracted to Howard in that way.

“Where is he?”

This time, JARVIS really did sigh. “I’ve been ordered not to tell you.”

“JARVIS, please tell Mister Stark that if I have to go looking for him, he is going to deeply regret it. If he goes to shower right now, I’ll have food waiting for him when he’s done.”

There was a pause as JARVIS relayed Steve’s message. “Very well, sir. He says he would like ice cream.”

“He’ll get whatever I decide to make.” Steve muttered under his breath.

In the kitchen, he found the local vegetables that were delivered every few days. With a stir-fry on the stove and a salad in progress, Steve thought about the last few days. Clint was in love with Coulson, Coulson was in love with Clint, and neither thought they were worthy of the other person. That, at least, had an easy solution. Now what the hell was he going to do about Tony?

***

In many ways, Bruce was the last person Coulson wanted to see.

“You’ve been avoiding us, Agent Coulson.” The doctor cleaned his glasses with a cloth. 

They were both in the elevator heading down to the underground parking lot.

“I’ve been very busy.” Phil lifted a bag. “Just grabbing some more clean clothes before I head back to the base.” He avoided Bruce’s searching look.

“How are things with Richard?” He asked.

Coulson winced. The two doctors had shared some enjoyable conversations, of course Bruce would ask. “We’re not together anymore.”

Banner replaced his glasses. “I’m sorry to hear that. Would you like to talk about it?”

Yes? Not really? He sighed. “I couldn’t be there for him. Life with S.H.I.E.L.D. is too hectic. He spent so much time worrying about me.”

The other man was nodding. “That makes sense.”

“He wasn’t comfortable with the fact that I carry a gun at all times, or that I kept one on the side table when sleeping. He said that it… dampened the mood.” Phil rubbed a hand against his forehead. “I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. He deserves better.”

Bruce’s mouth quirked in a smile. “I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. Everyone thinks that everyone else deserves better.”

That startled Coulson out of his own thoughts. Had Steve said something to Bruce about Clint? “What do you mean?”

“I listen to Tony a lot. I listen long after most people have tuned him out.” Bruce offered.

“Tony.” Phil thought about the man. “He thinks he’s not good enough for Steve.”

The doctor was nodding. “He thinks he’s not good enough for any of us. But especially Steve.”

“What does Pepper think about that?” He watched Bruce blush. Speaking of people who didn’t think they deserved the relationship they were in...

“She thinks they would be good together. She thinks Steve is just waiting for an invitation.”

Oh. That was interesting. Phil hadn’t considered that Steve might be as attracted to Tony as Tony was to Steve. The Captain, while open about his sexual preferences, was very private about his relationships. “Pepper is a very smart woman,” was all he had time to say before the elevator reached their destination.

***

Two days later, after the Avengers had assembled for a very real threat at the Newark Airport, whatever was between Clint and Phil came to a head.

“I told you to stay where you were!” Coulson shouted furiously.

“Steve was in trouble!” Clint shouted back.

“I had Natasha covering his back! You could have been seriously injured!”

“I wasn’t and I can’t read your damn mind!” The archer retorted. “The last thing you said to Nat was that she should take the left side!”

“You have to trust me! I had eyes on her! She knew what she needed to do!”

“Well, _I_ didn’t have eyes on her!”

“Damnit, Clint! You don’t have to have eyes on everything!”

“Yes, I do!”

“No, you don’t! That’s not how this works!” Phil exploded.

“Maybe it’s how it _should_ work! If I’d been with you on the helicarrier, you wouldn’t have died!”

“You can’t possibly know that!”

“I do fucking know that! I wouldn’t have let that bastard get close enough to you to stab you through the heart! I would have seen through his illusions! Now leave me the fuck alone. Isn’t your precious doctor waiting for you?”

“If you were as all-seeing as you think you are, you’d know that Richard and I aren’t together anymore.”

“I don’t think I’m all-seeing, you jackass! If I were, I would have known what you had planned! I-” His brain processed Coulson’s last words. “Oh god. Phil. I’m so sorry. He was a good guy. I mean, I fucking hated him, but he was a good guy.”

To his credit, Phil only shrugged. “We weren’t right for each other.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Clint said gently, sounding truly sincere.

Coulson chuckled. “He hated guns.”

“Oh.” Barton paused. “I’m really sorry.” He paused again. “Want to have pizza and beer tonight? Like old times?”

“Yeah,” he said softly, “that would be really nice.” He tried to harden his voice, “But I’m not done reading you the riot act.”

Clint laughed in his face. “Leave that for Fury. Go check on everyone else and I’ll take myself to medical like a good little agent.”

Coulson narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to head straight back to the Tower once my back is turned, aren’t you?”

“No sir.” His eyes were innocently wide, “I would never do that.”

Coulson laughed outright. Clint grinned and made a show of calling over one of the medics.

Trusting that his archer was in good hands, he turned to check in on the others.

***

Clint was lounging comfortably when JARVIS let Coulson in. “Beer in the fridge!” Clint announced. “Pizzas are in the oven. Out in a bit.”

Coulson grabbed a beer and wandered to the couch.

“Is that still your favourite?” Clint asked.

Phil only smiled. He knew how much Clint disliked his extremely hoppy IPAs. The fact that there had been some in the fridge went a long way in alleviating Coulson’s anxiety.

They drank in companionable silence for a while until the oven dinged and Clint dragged himself off the couch.

A pressure that Coulson hadn’t realized he’d been feeling released from around his lungs. Clint had made the pizza. Clint didn’t cook for people he didn’t like. Phil ate his pizza with significant enjoyment. 

“So you hated Richard.” Phil said into the silence.

Clint squirmed. “Yeah.”

“And that’s why you were avoiding me.”

The archer wouldn’t make eye-contact. “Yeah.”

“You could have said something.” Coulson half-scolded.

That brought Clint’s head up quickly. “You really liked him. Who am I to judge your boyfriends?”

“You’re Agent Clint Barton. We’ve worked together for years.”

Clint shrugged. “You deserve someone nice. You deserve someone who saves people.”

“ _You_ save people, Clint. All the time. Hundreds of them. Thousands of them.”

“You deserve someone who doesn’t kill for a living.”

Phil pulled Clint’s calloused hands into his own. “I deserve someone who understands my job and still loves me.”

Barton glanced down at their hands and up into Coulson’s deep eyes. “That’s me. I love everything about you.”

A slow grin split Phil’s face. “I love you too, Clint.”

Cheekiness flashed through Barton’s eyes. “I didn’t put any onion or garlic on the pizzas.”

“I’d noticed that something was missing.” Phil teased. “Not your usual gourmet fare.” He’d have said more if Clint weren’t suddenly in his lap, demanding kisses with single-minded intensity.


End file.
